


Thawed Heart

by Ibenholt



Category: Cyborg 009
Genre: Crushes, F/M, M/M, Sleepovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-13 05:38:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19244917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ibenholt/pseuds/Ibenholt
Summary: In the aftermath of Frozen Time, Fran takes care of Joe in an unexpected way.





	Thawed Heart

 

 

Joe had gotten the heaviest tears out when Francoise joined him out on the balcony.

She gently offered everything from something hot to drink to a walk on the beach, so he gave in and told her. Even when her eyes filled up and she grabbed his hand, he kept telling her about how scared and lonely he had been as time had stood completely still.

By the end of the story, he had somehow wound up with his head on her shoulder, with her arms tightly around him, one hand rubbing his back, and the other stroking his hair.

The group was so physical. Hands on shoulders, hugs that came out of nowhere, even kisses at times. He wasn’t used to it. The Father had hugged him every once in a while, and he had ruffled his hair quite a lot. And with Mary, Shinichi and Misaru, there has been hugs and being huddled together on cold days and nights, but only when they were little.

Being held by Francoise like this was so intimate that he seemed to forget what to do with his hands.

“Sleep in my room tonight.”

He blushed and barely managed to stutter out a ‘really?’.

“Oh… not… not like that!” she hurried to say, ending the embrace, but still holding onto his arms, “Just stay in room with me, so that if you wake up tonight and feel scared, you’ll see that I’m moving and hear me breathe. I wouldn’t want to be alone after something like this.”

 

 

Joe sighed, briefly wondered if he should have chosen something a bit cooler than the grey t-shirt and dark blue pants he was using as pajamas. 

It couldn’t be helped now, however, and he snuck into the hallway, and didn’t have time to knock on the door before Fran opened and dragged him in. She pointed to her ears with a small smile playing at her lips.  

She was wearing pale pink pajamas shorts with a matching shirt. Her headband was taken out. Joe’s heart almost skipped a beat. It was like he was seeing something he wasn’t supposed to.

“Are you sure you’re ok with this?”

“Yes.”

She smiled, and led him to the bed. They had just gotten settled under the covers when she exhaled and met his eyes,

“Actually, 002 and 004 and I did this all the time.”

Joe reddened at the mental image of the two others pressed up against her under the covers. His imagination refused be modest, and it was bothering him. Sure, he was 18 years old, but he was hoping to be a gentleman when Fran was showing him this level of trust.  

“You did?”

“Yes. There was only one bed, and the compound was really cold.”

She looked far away for a moment,

“It didn’t matter back there, because we always went to bed sore and too exhausted to stay awake. When we came here, I got my own room it was so strange sleeping alone again that for the first few nights that I snuck into theirs.”

As she spoke, she took his hand in hers. He ached to ask her about Skull Island and about what it had been like for them. They had welcomed him and they were including him, but the divide would always be there, because what had been a few hours for him had been years for them.  

Fran sighed and pinched her eyes shut,

“What?”

“Geronimo is asleep…so is Jet and Albert.”

She moved her head a little,

“Chang and GB are still talking… it’s like they never stop.”

“Are you ok? It’s a lot of noise…”

“I can block it out if it gets too bad. Well, not fully…”

She pinched the skin between her thumb and index finger, making a small snap that Joe wouldn’t have been able to register without his own advanced hearing,

“It’s like having cotton in my ears. Before, the constant buzzing was annoying. Now… it just calms me down, knowing that we are all here and safe.”

He smiled softly at her. He was used to noise from the orphanage. It had been comforting to him, even the first night of having his life completely changed.

“The professor is still awake. He’s tinkering with something. And Pyunma is still reading. He’s had trouble sleeping lately.”

“Should we…”

“No. Albert will join him for a cup of something hot soon, I think.”

She mumbled, then forced her eyes open.

“Sorry, Joe, I didn’t realize how sleepy I was…”

“It’s fine, really. Just sleep. I’m really tired, so it won’t be long for me either.”

“How silly of me. This was for your benefit…”

“Sleep, Fran.”

She gave a soft noise, and after a moment, she was gone.

 

An hour later, he was still staring at how the covers were falling and rising with her breath. She was fine. It was all going to be fine. But the moment he closed his eyes, he swore he stopped hearing her exhale, so his eyes flew open again, staring at her.

But now and then, her lips would move, or her nose would wrinkle, and throughout it, she never let go of his hand.

Finally, being completely exhausted, Joe allowed his eyes to slip shut.

 

 

“Joe?”

How had he fallen asleep? His eyes flew open, and he quickly wiped his mouth. Drool and morning breath!

But she was smiling at him, and now his heart skipped a beat. She was rubbing her face, which was swollen with sleep. In the light from the window, her hair looked like honey.

He’d never noticed just how cute she was. She smiled again, stretched and got out of the bed. He followed her lead, stiffening when she did.

“Oh no…”

It knocked on the door, and they both looked at one another.

“Excuse me, my dear, but I was…”

Gilmore peeked in, looked at the display before him and backed out of the room with his jaw close to hitting the floor.

Fran hurried into a bathrobe,

“What do we do!”

Before Joe could answer, the door burst open and 006 and 007 dashed in. 

“ARE YOU KIDS USING PROTECTION!”

006 pushed a box into Joe’s hands,

“You can never be too careful!”

Francoise pulled her robe tightly around herself,

“You don’t understand!”

007 clasped her hands in his,

“Oh, I do!! The horrors of syphilis! The cold claw of chlamydia! Gonorreha! I saw it a lot during my days as a star! I’m surprised I didn’t catch anything!”

“How can you catch anything when no one is throwing your way?”

Chang said coolly.

“Shouldn’t you be whipping up breakfast instead of nagging the children?” 

“I only came here to make sure you don’t embarrass yourself any more than necessary!”

“Whatever! Say, can you even catch anything with a cybernetic body? I don’t think this is my own skin…”

Chang turned to look at Francoise who was beet red, and Joe who could only look at his feet,

“Now, now, no time for that! I’m serving buttermilk pancakes and berries in a little while!”

She was about to answer when Jet rushed in and had Joe by the collar and up against the wall in 2 seconds flat.

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING HERE!”

Fran grabbed Jet’s arm,

“Stop that! I just invited Joe here to talk!”

“And he stayed over?”

“Yes! He… he was so exhausted from his tune-up that he just fell right asleep next to me! I didn’t have the heart to wake him, so…”

Jet let go, and Joe nodded rapidly, then bowed for Francoise,

“I’m very sorry to have inconvenienced you, Fran… 003.”

“It’s alright!”

She answered, Jet looked from Joe to Fran. She stiffened, making Joe assume Jet was using the internal radio. He couldn’t seriously think he’d done something bad to her, could he? Finally, Jet relaxed a little,

“Fine.”  

He glared at Joe over his shoulder before joining Albert in the hall. Geronimo and Pyunma barely glanced in their direction as they passed the room, and Joe was grateful for that. When GB and Chang finally left, Fran closed the door and exhaled.

“Fran?”

She looked up, and for a second it seemed like she had forgotten he was still there,

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

She smiled sweetly,  and then, when she was certain the others had gathered in the kitchen, leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Don’t be afraid to knock on my door again.”


End file.
